A police officer has released a video online casting doubt on the claims by another officer, who shot a man dead, that a gun could be mistaken for a taser.
The video, which has now been removed from the internet, went viral while it was still available and started a heated debate over the role of police-officers in society.
20-year-old Daunte Wright was shot earlier this month by officer Kim Potter, a 26-year-long veteran on the force. The incident received large-scale attention as it was yet another case of a white police officer killing an unarmed black-man.
During the incident, Wright struggled with the officer and she pulled her gun and shot him. Potter later said that she did not intend to shoot the man but that she was trying to taser him and she accidently pulled out a gun instead of a taser.
An officer by the name of Brian B released the video in which he said it was nearly impossible to mistake a gun for a taser or vice-versa. He said that the two items have a completely different feel to them and that officers have protocols in place to stop such a thing happening.
In the video, in which he shows both a taser and a gun, Brian B says:
"Huge weight difference, guys - I don't understand how we can mistake a Taser for a gun or a gun for a Taser."
He then goes on to say:
"If you're in the heat of the moment and you do something like that, you shouldn't be doing this job… nobody likes a bad cop less than a good cop… I'm not going to put my life on the line to try and fix your stupidity and deal with restoring the peace with my public that I serve just because of your stupid actions. It makes no sense. Ninety-nine percent of our job is communication. You don't have to be quick to pull out a gun or a Taser on somebody and think everybody's a threat."
He finishes by saying:
"I don't understand how we can mistake a taser for a gun or a gun for a taser. 99% of our job is communication. You don't gotta be quick to pull out a gun or a taser. Not everybody's a threat. Try talking to them, get to know them people."
“I don’t understand how we can mistake a taser for a gun or a gun for a taser. 99% of our job is communication. You don’t gotta be quick to pull out a gun or a taser. Not everybody’s a threat. Try talking to them, get to know them people.” — 12 year Veteran Police Officer Brian B pic.twitter.com/feOIUBH2tu
— Qasim Rashid, Esq. قاسم رشید (@QasimRashid) April 17, 2021
The officer who shot the man has now been charged with second-degree manslaughter.
[h/t: Upworthy]
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